The University of Alabama (UA) Board of Trustees has officially approved the construction of a state-of-the-art high-performance computing (HPC) and data center on the eastern edge of campus, with work set to begin immediately and a projected completion date in late 2026.

The new facility will house a cutting-edge computing system, making it the fastest in the state and comparable to those at leading research institutions. The $25 million center will offer substantial computing power and also provide cloud storage alternatives for research collaborations.

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Designed to support research across all campuses of the University of Alabama System, the HPC will foster collaboration with external partners, facilitating shared infrastructure for both research and workforce development. The center is expected to attract top-tier faculty members to UA, enhancing educational experiences and recruiting high-achieving students. By positioning the UA System for increased industrial, government, and academic partnerships, the facility is set to contribute to economic development and support discoveries in critical research areas such as water, materials, transportation, health, national security, and quantum computing.

Most of the funding for the center comes from a grant by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, as well as supplemental appropriations from Alabama’s Education Trust Fund, approved by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey in 2023.

The HPC will be a petascale computing system, capable of executing quadrillions of calculations per second. It will be the only system in Alabama to meet the standards for the Top500 list, a ranking of the nation’s most powerful supercomputers.

Spanning 40,000 square feet, the new facility will significantly increase UA’s computing capabilities, enabling researchers to compete for and lead federal and private industry grants and contracts.

“The application of machine learning to scientific problems means high-performance computing is needed for scientific discovery,” said Dr. Allen Parrish, executive director of the Alabama Cyber Institute. “The new center will offer UA students opportunities to work with faculty to answer our biggest questions related to water, mobility, and power technologies.”

Parrish emphasized the center’s wide-reaching impact: “The high-performance computing and data center touches every discipline on campus and is an opportunity to incorporate technology into the university’s entire fabric to engage and prepare students for their careers. This center will be a driver for developing a highly skilled workforce that will spur economic development in Alabama for the 21st century.”